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This book looks at the change in intellectual thought after the An Lushan rebellion. My primary focus in academic study has been the early Tang but the sources I'm hoping to eventually use for my PhD are written throughout the Tang by the elite and therefore I thought it would be a good background to know more about the intellectual thoughts of the time. I had actually not planned to buy this book but put it on my amazon wish list so I'd remember to try and find it in the library, but my mother in a particularly generous mood (as it was the most expensive book on the list) decided to get it for me for Christmas. I am almost tempted to re-sell it and try and buy more books closer to my research interest but I did enjoy reading it and did find it to be useful.
Liu was one of the late Tang dynasty Confucian thinkers that is said to have influenced the neo-Confucian writers of the Song. He was one of the prime leaders of the mid Tang Confucian revival, his concerns and questions drew all aspects of Confucianism into question. he was interested in Confucianism as a political philosophy, rather than a way of life. He saw Confucianism as social and behavioural and the spiritual side of life as belonging to Buddhism and Taoism. He was also greatly concerned with social welfare and the lives of the poor. This brings me to an interesting point, throughout the book Liu is talked about in rather a shining light. He seems to uphold all the modern views of what a good thinker should be, he looks down on superstitious practices and beliefs of his time and is concerned about the welfare of the poor. I couldn't help but notice the similarities with modern Communist thought on the subject. Unfortunately there was very little author biography for this book so I don't know if this was just a coincidence or not.
The separation between the practical and social world and the spiritual world Chen states as being common among medieval Chinese intellectuals, who he says saw "the spiritual world (meaning Buddhism and Taoism) was more fundamentally important than the practical and social one in terms of the perfection of human life "(22). Here however it would seem that the intellectuals were attempting to diverge from the common belief that saw little difference between the physical and the spiritual. Wang Wei implored people to do this so they would always be contended (23). At this time Confucianism is largely concerned with the social and political world. The most common description of a literati being Confucanism without and Buddhism (or Taoism) within. This is a phrase which gets repeated frequently within Chen's book.
I managed to learn more about Tang social structure among the elite from this book. It was interesting to see the decline of some of the "great families" and how their marriages were affected by this. It was also interesting to see that among this social group female literary seemed to be quite high. Liu's mother and sisters were all well educated (47). It was interesting to see Liu's rise through the political system, how early he passed his exam and what positions he was given. His achievements mirrored the unprecedented meteoritic rise of a fictional Tang dynasty character, but by today's standards seemed very slow. He then had the misfortune of becoming involved too closely in a political coup that ended badly and was exiled and demoted and was never again a strong force in politics. (68-69).
After a look at Liu's background Chen spent the rest of the book discussing Liu's writings and philosophical views. He looked at the different Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist principles of Liu. It was interesting to see how Liu described himself as a student of antiquity, and idolised Yao, Shun and Confucius. (84-85)Liu used the term antiquity to equate with the Tao. .Liu's characterisation of Confucianism as the Way of the public world "represented an important formulation of the widespread mid-Tang sentiment that Confucianism should be established, or re-established, as the guiding principle of government to remedy the political ills of the time" (98)
As I mentioned earlier Liu had disdained belief in the supernatural. He is the first Chinese thinker I have come across that spoke out against the idea of the mandate of heaven, one if not the, most important supernatural beliefs inherent in the Imperial Chinese model. While mentioning this I don't feel that Chen quite gave the significance to this belief that it deserved. I wanted to know how this idea came about, what reaction it caused, was it seen as totally revolutionary as it appeared? The idea seemed to spring out of Liu's belief that the human world was an entirely self-sufficient realm. This goes against so much of Chinese beliefs at the time where things such as children's' rhymes and songs were taken as omens from heaven. Liu on the other hand said that such talk was "charged with stupidity and deception" (99). However, it was all forms of superstition that Liu spoke out against such as the Taoist quest for longevity, the Confucian ideal of heaven as well as popular beliefs such as "miracles, divination, witchcraft, physiognomy, astrology, geomancy, the blessing of ancestors, good or bad potents, the worship of spirits and deities, the sacrifice of animals to gods, and the idea of lucky and unlucky days" (99). It is quite astonishing to see that everything that was considered important before is here condemned. I can't help but wonder if this is a reflection of the uncertainty of the post-An Lushan world. However, Chen relates Liu's scepticism on these matters to his very practical and Confucian view of the world.
Another of Liu's concerns was the suffering of ordinary people due to oppressive rule. (150). He talked about "the people" and included all Chinese people within this group, not just the men or the upper classes. One example given was that of a family of snake catchers that Liu wrote about. In his story, which may or may not be based on fact, the main character is a snake catcher who catches snakes for the Imperial household instead of paying tax. Several members of his family have died from snake bites but he sees this potential threat as much less than the actual threat of having to pauper himself and starve to pay his taxes. (151) Chen even links Liu's ideas as being "the closest idea one may find in Chinese intellectual tradition to the concept of democracy." (154) He goes on to say that while it is not government by the people they should control those who govern. As surprising as this idea may seem it doesn't seem to far removed from a non-superstitious version of the mandate of heaven. Chen also looks at Liu's relationship with the new ideas emerging within Buddhism, (159) these ideas he sees as being slightly related to Chan Buddhism which Liu opposed (176). To me they seem to be more part of the Buddhist tradition that was emerging that looked at salvation for all, and compassion for all, as its basic tenants.
Liu died young at the age of 46 but left behind a great body of writing. By the end of the book I felt I had a much better understanding of the intellectual trends of the time and of Liu's place in them. It was interesting to see the development and changes that took place during the mid Tang. All in all a very interesting read.
Liu was one of the late Tang dynasty Confucian thinkers that is said to have influenced the neo-Confucian writers of the Song. He was one of the prime leaders of the mid Tang Confucian revival, his concerns and questions drew all aspects of Confucianism into question. he was interested in Confucianism as a political philosophy, rather than a way of life. He saw Confucianism as social and behavioural and the spiritual side of life as belonging to Buddhism and Taoism. He was also greatly concerned with social welfare and the lives of the poor. This brings me to an interesting point, throughout the book Liu is talked about in rather a shining light. He seems to uphold all the modern views of what a good thinker should be, he looks down on superstitious practices and beliefs of his time and is concerned about the welfare of the poor. I couldn't help but notice the similarities with modern Communist thought on the subject. Unfortunately there was very little author biography for this book so I don't know if this was just a coincidence or not.
The separation between the practical and social world and the spiritual world Chen states as being common among medieval Chinese intellectuals, who he says saw "the spiritual world (meaning Buddhism and Taoism) was more fundamentally important than the practical and social one in terms of the perfection of human life "(22). Here however it would seem that the intellectuals were attempting to diverge from the common belief that saw little difference between the physical and the spiritual. Wang Wei implored people to do this so they would always be contended (23). At this time Confucianism is largely concerned with the social and political world. The most common description of a literati being Confucanism without and Buddhism (or Taoism) within. This is a phrase which gets repeated frequently within Chen's book.
I managed to learn more about Tang social structure among the elite from this book. It was interesting to see the decline of some of the "great families" and how their marriages were affected by this. It was also interesting to see that among this social group female literary seemed to be quite high. Liu's mother and sisters were all well educated (47). It was interesting to see Liu's rise through the political system, how early he passed his exam and what positions he was given. His achievements mirrored the unprecedented meteoritic rise of a fictional Tang dynasty character, but by today's standards seemed very slow. He then had the misfortune of becoming involved too closely in a political coup that ended badly and was exiled and demoted and was never again a strong force in politics. (68-69).
After a look at Liu's background Chen spent the rest of the book discussing Liu's writings and philosophical views. He looked at the different Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist principles of Liu. It was interesting to see how Liu described himself as a student of antiquity, and idolised Yao, Shun and Confucius. (84-85)Liu used the term antiquity to equate with the Tao. .Liu's characterisation of Confucianism as the Way of the public world "represented an important formulation of the widespread mid-Tang sentiment that Confucianism should be established, or re-established, as the guiding principle of government to remedy the political ills of the time" (98)
As I mentioned earlier Liu had disdained belief in the supernatural. He is the first Chinese thinker I have come across that spoke out against the idea of the mandate of heaven, one if not the, most important supernatural beliefs inherent in the Imperial Chinese model. While mentioning this I don't feel that Chen quite gave the significance to this belief that it deserved. I wanted to know how this idea came about, what reaction it caused, was it seen as totally revolutionary as it appeared? The idea seemed to spring out of Liu's belief that the human world was an entirely self-sufficient realm. This goes against so much of Chinese beliefs at the time where things such as children's' rhymes and songs were taken as omens from heaven. Liu on the other hand said that such talk was "charged with stupidity and deception" (99). However, it was all forms of superstition that Liu spoke out against such as the Taoist quest for longevity, the Confucian ideal of heaven as well as popular beliefs such as "miracles, divination, witchcraft, physiognomy, astrology, geomancy, the blessing of ancestors, good or bad potents, the worship of spirits and deities, the sacrifice of animals to gods, and the idea of lucky and unlucky days" (99). It is quite astonishing to see that everything that was considered important before is here condemned. I can't help but wonder if this is a reflection of the uncertainty of the post-An Lushan world. However, Chen relates Liu's scepticism on these matters to his very practical and Confucian view of the world.
Another of Liu's concerns was the suffering of ordinary people due to oppressive rule. (150). He talked about "the people" and included all Chinese people within this group, not just the men or the upper classes. One example given was that of a family of snake catchers that Liu wrote about. In his story, which may or may not be based on fact, the main character is a snake catcher who catches snakes for the Imperial household instead of paying tax. Several members of his family have died from snake bites but he sees this potential threat as much less than the actual threat of having to pauper himself and starve to pay his taxes. (151) Chen even links Liu's ideas as being "the closest idea one may find in Chinese intellectual tradition to the concept of democracy." (154) He goes on to say that while it is not government by the people they should control those who govern. As surprising as this idea may seem it doesn't seem to far removed from a non-superstitious version of the mandate of heaven. Chen also looks at Liu's relationship with the new ideas emerging within Buddhism, (159) these ideas he sees as being slightly related to Chan Buddhism which Liu opposed (176). To me they seem to be more part of the Buddhist tradition that was emerging that looked at salvation for all, and compassion for all, as its basic tenants.
Liu died young at the age of 46 but left behind a great body of writing. By the end of the book I felt I had a much better understanding of the intellectual trends of the time and of Liu's place in them. It was interesting to see the development and changes that took place during the mid Tang. All in all a very interesting read.